Islam, Christianity and Secularism in European Education

Abstract

At a very general (‘civilisational’) level, compulsory and upper secondary education in Europe is based in the Christian tradition and does not easily tolerate other types of education. Europe is the only continent that has been able to combine modernisation and secularisation, and this has continuously favoured religious schools of the Christian type but disfavoured Muslim initiatives. Also, during the past decade all the education systems have been required to produce competitiveness and social cohesion. The first requirement has made education more focused on intellectual, technical and cognitive features and less on values and morals. The second requirement derives from the cleavages resulting from the drive for competitiveness as well as flows of immigrants and minority demands for their rights. However, none of the pressures, drives and requirements has resulted in any deep-going change in the multicultural direction of European education.